


Love They Say

by spookycat



Series: SwanQueen by way of Tegan and Sara songs [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Based on a song, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Swan-Mills Family, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 17:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14899058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookycat/pseuds/spookycat
Summary: Regina and Emma are set to be married, but old, self-doubting habits die hard.Can be read as a stand-alone piece, but it's meant to be a conclusion to my series inspired by Tegan and Sara songs. It's from a universe that splits from canon after 4A.





	Love They Say

**Author's Note:**

> There are a couple of vague references to stuff from the earlier works, but nothing to prevent you from understanding this story. If you want to see how Emma and Regina got together, start [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11918541/chapters/26933592)!
> 
> Inspired by the Tegan and Sara song of the same name, which I do not own.
> 
> Thank you as always to my lovely wife for the beta and sanity checks.

 

Love, they say, it heals all wounds,  
Love removes the hurt in you,  
Love, I know that this is true.  
Love, they say that it is blind,  
Love, they say it all the time,  
Love, I know that they are right.  
Love, they say this

You don’t need to wonder if love will make us stronger,  
There’s nothing love can’t do.  
Love, they say this,  
You don’t need to worry, this love will make us worthy  
There’s nothing love can’t do.

\--Tegan and Sara, "Love They Say"

 

* * *

 

Haphazard beats thudded against stone as Emma dangled her feet over the edge of the author’s mansion back porch. She wasn’t sure why she ended up here. Maybe her subconscious guided her to the place it finally became real, like officially real.

 

That had been more than a year ago now.

 

When it had been exactly a year — a few months ago — a ring had been delicately placed on Emma’s finger. She’d been watching the sunset on the back porch of what had once been Regina’s house, but was now their house, holding a steaming mug of cocoa in her hands in a failed attempt to keep them warm. Regina had joined her, told her she was ridiculous for sitting out there in the cold, and asked her if she’d want to do something even more ridiculous and marry a semi-reformed evil queen.

 

The hope and anxiety shining in Regina’s eyes belied her attempt to sound casual. Emma had reverently whispered “yes” and couldn’t stop staring at her finger all evening, long after a celebratory dinner with Henry and then a couple of glasses of wine after he’d gone upstairs.

 

“If you don’t like it, we can go pick out something different,” Regina had said hesitantly as they were getting ready for bed, having noticed Emma’s eyes once again drifting down to her ring — a simple, elegant trio of their family birthstones.

 

“No!” Emma had clutched her left hand protectively to her chest. “I love it. I… no one has ever given me anything this special in my life.” She looked at it again lovingly. “And I don’t just mean the jewelry — although that’s true too — but what it stands for.”

 

Regina’s cheeks had flushed as a small, slightly proud smile crept across her lips, and Emma just had to kiss her whole face, even as happy tears streaked her own.

 

Now, as she watched another beautiful sunset from this big, empty house, tears pricked at her eyes again.

 

“Nice view.” Emma started at the voice from behind her.

 

“Kid, you scared the shit out me,” she said with a strained chuckle, attempting to wipe her eyes discreetly.

 

“Sorry,” Henry said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and leaning against a pillar. “I just thought I’d come keep you company.”

 

“Keep me company? And not, maybe, shoo me off to my rehearsal dinner?” It came out slightly more harshly than she intended.

 

“Nope, just here to hang out,” Henry shrugged, undeterred. Emma didn’t know whether to be grateful he was able to brush off her tone or regretful that he’d ever had to learn to tolerate her occasional brattiness.

 

She looked at him for a minute, taking in his gentle, judgment-free face, and her heart started to warm where it had previously only ached. “Should be a nice night,” she said, scooting over and patting the spot she’d created. She stared back out into the treetops as he settled down beside her.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, his line of sight following hers.

 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Emma finally nudged his knee with hers and whined softly, “Sto-op.”

 

“Stop what?” he asked, confused.

 

“Stop with the third degree.”

 

“I wasn’t—”

 

“You’re thinking it,” Emma said sadly. Her eyes were trained on her lap, her finger absently tracing triangles on her jeans.

 

“Okay, what am I thinking?” Henry asked, ever the diplomat.

 

“That I’m a chicken. A dirtbag. A deserter.” Her lips tensed into a firm line.

 

“Hey don’t say those things about my mom,” he said calmly. “They’re not true, and I think she’s pretty great… most of the time. Sometimes she plays dirty at Mario Kart.” She elbowed him even as a faint smile tugged at her lips.

 

“Kid, that’s really sweet, but someone who skips out on their own rehearsal dinner is kind of a dick,” she looked at him, ashamed.

 

“So this is one of those nights you turn off the vocabulary censor. Good to know where we’re at on the give-a-crap scale,” he said lightly. He skillfully dodged the elbow this time.

 

“You are so your mother’s son.”

 

“I’m both my mothers’ son,” he responded. “And we make a great team.”

 

Emma’s chest constricted painfully at his words. He couldn’t possibly understand. “I love you and your mom more than anything, you know that, right?” She grabbed his hands, wanting to explain anyway. He nodded patiently. “I’m just not sure we can do this, that we can make it work, like, as long as we both shall live. Or ever after. Whichever one Storybrooke officially recognizes.”

 

Nothing but kindness flowed off of him, and her shoulders relaxed just a tad. She released her grip on his hands and ran fingers through her hair.

 

“You _can_ do it. I know you can,” he said, echoing the earnestness of a ten-year-old on a mission. “Your true love is the stuff of legends. Look how much you’ve already done!”

 

“Henry, I know you believe that, but it’s complicated. Your mom and I are complicated. Haven’t you ever thought about how crazy it is that we’re even together? I know some of the people in town still think so.” She tried to keep her breathing even, but having to acknowledge this out loud had her head spinning. “We were supposed to be mortal enemies, not sappy housewives!”

 

“That’s lame and you know it,” Henry said fiercely, and Emma’s eyebrows shot up. “You haven’t been those people in a long time, and even I know fairytale roles aren’t as simple as they seem. I don’t think that’s what’s really bothering you, so what is?”

 

Damn. Her kid was growing up and becoming all astute. This did not bode well for her future, she just knew it.

 

“Wow, okay,” she said with a sigh. “Uh, well like I said, it’s complicated.” He looked at her pointedly. “You’re right,” she hurried on, “it’s not just because of the Savior and EQ stuff.” She took a breath, unsure if their teenaged son was really the person to air relationship grievances with, but she really didn’t have any alternatives at the moment. All she could do was try not to stretch any boundaries too far.

 

“You’ve been around. I know we’re not always the best at hiding our fights, and some of them have been real humdingers. Not my proudest moments,” she admitted.

 

“Yeah, but those hardly ever happen. And I’ve been around later when you made up, too.” He leveled a serious stare at her. “I’ve heard things. Things I will never be able to unhear.”

 

A flush rose in her cheeks as her eyes turned skyward. “It’s just… I can’t always count on that, you know? What if she doesn’t want to make up with me one of these days? Or I don’t with her? I’m not the only one with a smart mouth.” She froze, regretting saying anything that might put Regina in even the slightest negative view in his eyes.

 

Bringing her fears to the surface like this was so not what she wanted when she came out here. She thought she could just compartmentalize them, put it all away, if she just had some time to herself. It was one of the earliest life skills she’d acquired.

But that was before anyone ever had her back, before anyone gave a shit about her at all. Things were different now, and that was part of what was making her freak out. It had been _so hard_ to try and unlearn all the habits she’d developed to protect herself, even after years of finally having a loving family. She still fucked it up all the time. So used to not having anyone else to depend on, she still didn’t always think to tell Regina significant things, like when she was berated with homophobic slurs and spit on by a prick she’d thrown in the drunk tank, or when she started having panic attacks driving sometimes after she’d nearly hit a child who ran into the street. Regina didn’t appreciate being left in the dark.

 

But what was worse was when Emma lashed out. People always thought that was Regina’s thing (and, boy, was it), but Emma could give as good as she got. Sometimes gave first, even, when she could sense a blow was coming. It’s what made them so volatile together. When you’ve only ever been burned, how can you do anything but start striking first?

 

Of course they loved each other. That was never in question. The last 15 months had been the most deliriously happy time of Emma’s life. Except for the very occasional evening spent sobbing and berating herself in the Bug, banging the steering wheel after some particularly nasty exchange. It would have undoubtedly been something that got blown out of proportion, someone misinterpreting an action or statement that somehow spiraled into crippling doubts weaponized as insults. Having faith in another person for the first time, it turned out, took a delicate building process that could be demolished in an instant. You had to be willing to go back and start building again, and the only person either of them had any experience doing that with was Snow, who was quite persistent. And still neither of their relationships with her was issue-free, even given more space than a romantic partnership allowed.

 

Admittedly, fight nights were really rare, but Emma never got used to them. Every time, her blood ran so cold her hands and feet went numb, and she was practically seeing stars by the time she tore out of the house, gulping for fresh air whether the tears had already started or not.

 

There was nothing more terrifying to her — and to Regina, she knew — than feeling unwanted, not good enough. After every squabble, even after each tiny misstep, she had to overcome that very fear, looming larger than the requisite sorrow and pain and shame, always shame, to go back and face the love of her life. Hurtful, spiteful comments were not easily forgotten, but they’d had to learn to forgive them.

 

Still, she was waiting for the time it was too much to forgive, for the time Regina’s love ran out. She had absolutely no evidence that would ever be the case, but who said anxiety was rational? What if one evening she came back to find that Regina actually _had_ set fire to everything she held dear? (They had an unspoken no-magic clause during fights, but there were no rules about what happened after.)

 

“You realize regular couples fight, right?” Henry asked, jolting Emma back to the present.

 

“Are you basing that on sessions with Archie, or something you saw on TV?” Emma asked skeptically.

 

“Both? Does it matter? Everybody knows it’s true except you, apparently,” he said.

 

“Hey,” she said, hurt.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said, wrinkling his forehead in regret. “I just mean that you get to be normal now. You don’t have to be in survival mode all the time.”

 

“Kid, you remember we fought an evil talking lion _and_ tiger like two weeks ago, right? I still don’t know how those two met up. They’re from different eras. And continents.”

 

Henry rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say be _boring_. Just, like, a normal couple, living your lives. Together.” He paused, and the unwavering hope in his eyes made her want so much to believe. “Mom, you’re brave enough to do this, even if you don’t think you are. I’ve seen how you two are together. You’re even stronger than you were before. Love did that. Love can do anything.”

 

Emma’s eyes welled up. “If you keep up with the writing, you should definitely consider throwing in some romance,” she sniffed, tossing him a watery smile. “You have a knack for it.”

 

“I learned from the best,” he said. “By which I mean Grandma. You can only hear so many hope speeches as a child before they’re permanently embedded in your brain.”

 

Emma smacked him lightly. “Hey, I can be romantic. Are you saying my treasure hunt wasn’t the least bit impressive?”

 

He grinned. “You’re right, that was pretty good.” Then, suddenly distracted, he tried to look subtly at his phone and failed.

 

“My mom must be throwing a fit right now,” Emma commented guiltily.

 

“Actually, that should be under control. Gramps and Granny have been assigned distraction duty. When I left they were trying to decide between Gramps having a hysterical breakdown over his daughter getting married or Granny claiming a pack of hyenas broke into the diner and wrecked all the decorations.”

 

“Hysterical breakdown, no question. Wish I could see it,” Emma chuckled. “So how did you find me? I haven’t even been gone too long.”

 

“Mom figured it out. I guess she still thinks that treasure hunt was pretty romantic, too.”

 

Emma nodded mournfully. “She shouldn’t have to be searching for her runaway bride the night before her wedding.” She sighed heavily. “I guess I should go find her, if she’s even willing to talk to me.”

 

Henry stood up and offered her a hand. “Oh, she is.” Where Emma expected a grim expression, she instead saw… a hint of excitement?

 

She eyed him warily. “What aren’t you telling me?”

 

“Oh, nothing,” he said in an infuriatingly nonchalant manner. He turned and headed toward the back door. “Come on, she’s waiting.”

 

“She’s here?” Emma squeaked, her heart instantly pounding as a tornado of guilt, fear, and blind hope stormed through her. Most of all, though, came the intense, sweet anticipation that still arose when she was about to see Regina.

 

“What, did you think I stole the Mercedes?” She narrowed her eyes at him as she followed him inside and up the stairs. With a quick smile over his shoulder, he opened the library door and ushered her inside.

 

What must have been hundreds of glowing candles filled the room, but Emma barely registered them because, as usual, she only had eyes for the woman standing before her. In black leather boots, black jeans (a wardrobe addition Emma was ridiculously proud to be responsible for) and a red silk blouse (because some things never change, not if Emma had anything to say about it), Regina was the most beautiful sight Emma could imagine taking in right now. Her makeup was dialed back a bit, and some hair was tucked behind an ear. Emma had insisted that if the wedding was even remotely as fancy as her mother planned for it to be, then the rehearsal dinner would be a casual affair. Emma, too, was in her usual jeans and a black, silky-soft tee with a low scoop neck (because maybe Regina had influenced her a little, too).

 

“Hi,” Regina said with a smile so bright it couldn’t possibly belong to someone who’d been abandoned right before her rehearsal dinner.

 

“Hey,” Emma said as she made her way further into the room, head slightly ducked self-consciously, but unable to tear her eyes away from her hopefully-still fiancée.

 

“Welcome to Operation Forever,” Henry said, coming around from behind her. He and Regina shared a triumphant grin.

 

“Operation For— what’s going on here? I’m not in trouble? I mean, I’m pretty sure I should be in trouble.”

 

Regina rolled her eyes fondly. “Here I thought we were presenting you with a pleasant alternative. But if you prefer to be in trouble, Miss Swan, I’m sure we can find a suitable punishment.” There was only the faintest of twinkles in her eye, but it was enough to make Henry’s face twist in abject horror.

 

“I am _Right. Here._ ” Regina and Emma burst out laughing. Emma felt her tension begin to ease up, and she stepped forward to take Regina’s hand, swinging it lightly between them.

 

“So tell me about this operation,” she said with a small smile.

 

“Well, it’s top secret,” Regina answered, and Emma tried to take a mental snapshot of the pure joy that lit up her face. “And it took a bit of planning….”

 

“I’ll say. This place looks amazing,” Emma said, finally taking survey of the softly illuminated room around her.

 

“Oh, this part was easy. Fire’s kind of my thing,” Regina smirked. “No, your son insisted on some elements that… _complicated_ matters a bit.”

 

“It was important for everything to be legit!” Henry aimed a pointed stare at Regina, and her lip quirked up in spite of herself.

 

“I’m still a little lost here,” Emma cut in. “You’ve clearly gone to some trouble, but for what exactly?”

 

“Your wedding,” Henry said simply. “It’s happening here. Now.”

 

For the first time since she’d walked in, Emma saw the teensiest bit of doubt in Regina’s eyes, though they were primarily hopeful as they looked at her, waiting for a response.

 

“We’re getting married... now?” Emma said, her heartbeat climbing rapidly. “But where is everyone? What about the rehearsal dinner? I don’t have my dress, and if I don’t wear it, this entire town will need to take shelter from my mother’s wrath.”

 

“Breathe,” Regina said, taking Emma’s other hand gently in hers. “Nothing about tomorrow will change. This will just be a little practice session.”

 

“Resulting in a legitimate marriage,” Henry added emphatically.

 

Regina nodded and gave him a placating smile. “Yes, a very real, completely valid marriage.” Uncertainty crept over her face again as she turned back to Emma and added hastily, “If you want.”

 

Emma wanted. She really, really did. Her body just wasn’t quite done putting up a bit of a fight. She felt the telltale pins and needles in her fingertips. Her heart was hammering, and she needed a drink of water. Inside her head was nothing but static, buzzing and crackling as time slowed and heavy eyelids blinked closed. When she opened them again, everything was a blur except two shining faces. She focused on them, breathing in and out, tracing the shape of Henry’s nose with her eyes, locating the scar on Regina’s lip. Meeting their loving, patient gazes in turn until she felt her muscles relax and her mind begin to clear. After a few more breaths, her lips curled upward and she began to nod happily. “Yes.”

 

Before she could blink she was being squeezed tightly in a Mills sandwich, and laughter bubbled up out of her. It was a much needed release, washing away any remainders of tension completely, and when they let go, she felt re-energized and centered.

 

“I texted Gramps and said we found you but you need to get cleaned up first,” Henry said, suddenly all business. “Something about getting sprayed by a family of skunks in the forest and then tripping and falling into a mud pit. And being pooped on by a bird.” Emma gawked at him and Regina tried to cover her laugh with a cough. “Look, I bought us some time. You’re welcome. Anyway, you’re going to stand here and here, and I’m there.” He indicated a little area between two pillars topped with candles of varying heights. There was a little platform for him to stand on, Emma noted with a smile. She was overwhelmed with love for their son and how much he could give and give and give. He was the kind of person Emma didn’t believe existed until she met him. She stole a glance at Regina, and from the way she was watching him, Emma knew she was equally wrapped up in the wonder that was Henry.

 

He cleared his throat, ready to get this show on the road. “Wait,” Emma said suddenly, and both of them looked at her in alarm. “How exactly is this going to work? Can a 15-year-old really marry someone in Maine?”

 

“Not exactly,” Regina said slowly, and Emma raised an eyebrow at them. “But an 18-year-old can.”

 

“Mom aged me long enough for me to fill out the forms online,” Henry beamed. “You’re looking at an officially ordained minister.”

 

“You Weasley’d him?!” Emma looked at Regina incredulously, feeling both impressed at her future wife’s rebellion and a little jealous she’d missed it. “Did you grow a beard?” she asked Henry excitedly.

 

He rolled his eyes with a laugh. “A little more chest hair,” he admitted, color rising in his cheeks. “But it wasn’t really a big deal. I had to fudge my birthday on the forms, but Mom said that was okay just this once if the age I listed was true to my current state.” She had a feeling he was reciting this verbatim.

 

Regina caught Emma’s eye slightly sheepishly. “It was important to him for it to be official,” she said softly as Henry bustled around setting up final touches to the scene. “His name won’t be on the marriage certificate we file, but it will be real for all of us.”

 

Emma had to fight back tears. She couldn’t cry before they even started. “Definitely real,” she managed to get out.

 

But something had been sticking in the back of her mind, and when it came to the surface, Emma felt a pang of hurt. “You knew I’d run,” she said quietly, her lips forming a firm line. “You planned all of this ahead of time in case you had to try to convince me to come back.” She was ashamed that she’d done exactly what they predicted.

 

“No, that’s not it at all,” Regina said, reaching to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We just came up with an alternative plan in the event you needed something a little more private with less pressure.” The compassion in her eyes helped soothe Emma as Regina added, “I’m secretly pretty pleased it turned out this way.”

 

“So am I,” Henry chimed in. “Just us, officially becoming Team Swan-Mills. Can I change my name too, by the way?”

 

“Of course you may,” Regina beamed at him. Emma couldn’t utter a reply, but she smiled and nodded.

 

“Okay then, are you ready?” Henry asked, already in place.

 

“Oh, just a sec,” Regina said and went to grab something out of the handbag she’d left in a chair. She came back and slipped a corsage with a bright red flower around Emma’s wrist. She recognized it as a flor de maga, the same as what Regina would have in her hair tomorrow. It was the official flower of her father’s homeland, and Emma felt honored that Regina would share it with her. Seriously, though, how was she supposed to make it through this without waterworks? “Perfect,” Regina said softly as she gazed at her, and Emma felt a little better seeing that Regina’s eyes weren’t completely dry either.

 

Henry pulled out a little piece of paper where he’d handwritten his part and cleared his throat. “Moms,” he began, looking at them confidently, so grown up. “I’ve always heard that love is blind. I think it’s safe to say you two didn’t start out that way,” he smirked knowingly. Regina raised an amused eyebrow. “But I think that’s pretty great, because if you feel this way about each other even after you’ve seen how stubborn, temperamental, and honestly pretty dramatic you can both be sometimes, then your love must be really strong.”

 

“Thanks, kid,” Emma laughed.

 

Henry grinned and continued, unashamed. “It’s strong enough to conquer anything. Not just monsters and villains, but all the regular stuff life can throw at you to make things hard. You’re both really tough — you survived a lot of terrible things on your own when you shouldn’t have had to. You both got burned pretty badly. So it makes sense that you didn’t think you could ever trust anyone with your hearts.” He paused, looking at them with pride. “But slowly — like painfully slowly — you learned to let each other in. It was pretty obvious your feelings for each other were so strong that you couldn’t fight them forever. And when you finally did stop fighting, it didn’t make you weak like you thought it would. I think having someone to fight with, or to fight _for_ , made you more powerful than you ever were before. It’s been pretty awesome to watch, and I’m glad you finally accepted you belong with each other. And me,” he added with a big smile. “I’ve learned what true love looks like, something _beyond_ true love even, just from watching you, and one day when I write an epic love story, I think you know who it’ll be about.”

 

Emma had given up trying to hold back her tears somewhere in there and gave a loud sniff just as he finished. Regina reached into her pocket and handed her a tissue, which she gratefully took. Regina had managed to dab her eyes so that her makeup still looked flawless, while Emma was sure she looked like a splotchy mess.

 

“Mom?” Henry looked at Regina. She nodded and pulled out her own piece of paper with a slightly trembling hand. She glanced down at it for a moment, nodded slightly, and put it away again. She found Emma’s eyes with her own and held them for a moment, and if Emma hadn’t already been certain she’d follow this woman anywhere, that look, baring herself completely to Emma, would have sealed the deal.

 

“Emma,” she said on a calming breath, “I wasted so much of my life hurting. I turned my pain on others, every time wounding myself further in the process. I even did it to you. Especially to you,” she said, but her gaze didn’t waver. “I could never have imagined I’d end up here, with a love that continues to astound me every day, and has healed me in a way I never believed possible. You do that, Emma. No magic, no fate, just you.” Emma wondered if a person could make actual heart eyes, because she felt like she probably was. “One reason above all kept me from believing I could ever have this in my life. I simply didn’t think I was worthy. A seed was planted in me so long ago that my feelings meant nothing. I meant nothing. Power was the only thing I was good for, and I took it to vicious extremes. Others may have started me on the path to doubting my self-worth, but ultimately I took that mantle on myself with every deed that blackened my heart. Even here, once I began a path to better myself, I never thought it would be enough.”

 

She gently brushed hair back from Emma’s face and briefly cupped her jaw before continuing. “You changed everything. I tried and tried to keep you out, but it was a battle I desperately wanted to lose. I know you had similar struggles in your life. Learning to feel good enough when all you’ve ever been given is evidence to the contrary is… a challenge. But I finally feel deserving of love, of happiness, and you’ve done that for me. I pledge to spend the rest of my life making you feel the same.”

 

Emma didn’t know if it was allowed, but she couldn’t stop herself from launching into Regina’s arms, resting her chin on her shoulder and squeezing her eyes shut as she wrapped her arms tightly around her.

 

“Don’t break her! Grandma will kill you if Mom has to hobble down the aisle tomorrow,” Henry joked lightly.

 

“Sorry,” Emma said, pulling back just enough to smile warmly at Regina. “Won’t happen again, sir.”

 

“Oh, I hope it will,” Regina said, allowing a tear to run down her cheek. Emma wiped it away before stepping back into her designated spot.

 

“Mom, do you have any vows you’d like to say?” Henry looked expectantly at Emma.

 

“Um, well considering this wasn’t on my agenda for the evening, I’m not exactly prepared,” Emma smiled nervously. “But I think I can wing it, if you don’t mind.” She looked questioningly at Regina.

 

“I think that’s when you’re at your best,” she said fondly. “I seem to recall a rather successful magic lesson on a bridge once upon a time.” That earned her a raised eyebrow from Emma, but they were both smiling dopily at each other.

 

Emma cleared her throat and took a breath. “Regina, I will never forget the first time I saw your face. You were just a worried mom, and I’d never seen anyone so fragile and strong at the same time. I’d only ever dreamt of being on the receiving end of the kind of love you clearly felt for your kid, and I thought anyone special in your life was incredibly lucky.” Emma paused. “Then some other shi— uh, stuff went down, and I may have felt some less-than-friendly things about you, but that passion never left my mind. I always admired how fiercely you cared about Henry, and deep down I think I wondered if anyone would ever feel that way about me. And as time went by, I wondered if it could be you. But like you said, I kind of didn’t think that was something that could ever really happen for me, and I didn’t exactly make it easy for anyone to try. I convinced myself it was better that way.

 

“There’s no way I could have ever pretended that was true after that night I kissed you.” She glanced at Henry, who didn’t know that not-exactly-honorable part of their story. But she could keep it vague. “Even just holding your hand for the first time turned my life upside down. It was like my heart had something to really beat for for the first time ever, and it freaked me out because I never expected to feel that way. But it was something I knew I could never live without again. And I’m so grateful that you made it so I didn’t have to. I love you,” she glanced at Henry, “both of you, so much. I wake up every day wondering if this is really my life. I promise I will give you my whole heart for as long as I live.”

 

Regina gave her one of those smiles that could have lit the room without any candles at all. It reminded Emma of the night they were all here before, the night she joined Operation Mongoose.

 

“That was great, Mom,” Henry said encouragingly to Emma. “Now, Regina, do you take Emma to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, to have and to hold and to kick ass with, as long as you both shall live?”

 

Regina pursed her lips at him before turning to Emma. “I do.”

 

“And Emma, do you take Regina to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, to have and to hold and to kick ass with, as long as you both shall live?”

 

“You bet I do,” she said, and she didn’t even mind that her now-dry cheeks were in full-on cramp mode, her smile was so wide.

 

“Okay, now the rings,” Henry said, eagerly moving things along. Once again, Emma was about to panic when Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out the identical wedding bands she and Regina had picked out together.

 

“We’ll have to take them back off for most of tomorrow,” Regina said, “but I thought this wouldn’t be complete without them.”

 

Henry gave them the rings, which they gently slipped on each other’s fingers.

 

“And now, by the power vested in me by some sketchy magic and the state of Maine, I now pronounce you the two dorkiest wives ever. Let’s see a True Love’s Kiss!”

 

Emma instantly felt Regina’s hands on her cheeks and lips on her own, although they barely managed kisses at first from all the grinning. Things took a turn when Emma felt a tiny nip on her lower lip, causing her to deepen the kiss as heat started to pool in her belly. There was nothing in the room — in the universe — except Regina’s hands in her hair and taste on her tongue. Emma’s fingers were just starting to clutch Regina’s blouse tightly behind her back when the sound of Henry obnoxiously clearing his throat brought her back to earth… mostly.

 

“Since I don’t need to tell you to get a room, I’m going to simply suggest that silencing spells go a long way in promoting good mental health for your son.” Despite his cheekiness, Henry couldn’t wipe the grin off his own face, leading Emma to break away from Regina and tackle him with a hug.

 

“Thank you,” she said quietly. There was so much more to say. She owed Henry everything; she hadn’t known how to love before him. And he was still teaching her, even tonight, despite what he said about it being the other way around. She supposed that was the beauty of their little family — they were all learning this together.

 

He was already squirming from her hold, though, and she figured she’d probably already used up all the articulation she was capable of for the evening anyway. “Anytime, Mom,” he said as he freed himself. “But right now we’ve gotta go rescue Gramps. Plus I’m starving,” he said, earning a smack on the arm. He paused, turning to look at his mothers with a softer smile, and said, “Congratulations.” Then he headed out the door, leaving them to follow.

 

Regina grabbed her bag and took Emma’s hand in her own as they headed for the door. Emma brought Regina’s hand to her lips and pressed a featherlight kiss there. “I love you,” she said into Regina’s skin.

 

“And I love you.” Emma wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Regina look so blissed out. She imagined she looked the same way.

 

“But you know this doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being a pain in your ass, right?” Emma said as they made their way down the stairs.

 

“I believe I’ve received this warning before,” Regina chuckled as they reached the front door.

 

“It bears repeating,” Emma said with a sly smile.

 

Regina shook her head, gave Emma a quick kiss and said, “My darling wife, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Never meant to write this, but like with Closer, the song just wouldn't leave me alone. And to me, of them all, this song is the most SwanQueen-y.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm @spookycatSQ on Twitter if you wanna come say hi.


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